Nutrition Education

In the Office of Child Nutrition, part of our goal is to foster happy, healthy and successful children by providing them with the right fuel they need for growing, learning and developing. This is accomplished by offering our children Nutrition Education resources along with nutrient-rich foods and beverages that follow USDA’s Nutrition Standards Guidelines. When children fill up on proper high quality nutrition, their bodies and brains will naturally have less room for empty calorie foods that offer them no nutritional value (i.e. soft drinks, chips, candy, desserts etc.).

Selecting foods that are beneficial to our everyday health can assist in the reduction of chronic diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease, and certain cancers. Healthy eating habits coupled with daily physical activity can lead to a lifetime of good health and well-being. Learning about healthy eating habits can occur in: classrooms, school cafeterias, libraries, health fairs and home environments.

The Division of Nutrition Education promotes several USDA nutrition resources as well as local grants that provide positive health benefits to Mississippi school districts. Resources such as: Team Nutrition, HealthierUS School Challenge (HUSSC) and the Nutrition Integrity Grant sponsored by The Bower Foundation.